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Judge: ET Rover pipeline can seize land without owners' blessings

Judge said he will work to fairly compensate 58 property owners losing land to eminent domain

A large tree recently felled along the route of the Energy Transfer Rover Pipeline, which will cut through Post 46 Hunting and Fishing Club in Dexter Township. The pipeline company sued 58 property owners in Livingston, Washtenaw and Lenawee counties to seize lands along the route by exercising the power of eminent domain.(Photo: JENNIFER EBERBACH/LIVINGSTON DAILY)

Energy Transfer Rover Pipeline can immediately seize land along the route of a future natural-gas pipeline, a federal judge ordered.

At issue are 116 tracts of land in Livingston, Washtenaw and Lenawee counties that ET Rover had not been able to reach right-of-way agreements with owners on, including private property owners, county drain commissions and other utility companies such as Michigan Bell Telephone Company, Enbridge Pipelines, Consumers Energy and others.

Contractors have already started clearing trees to prepare for pipeline construction. ET Rover is also allowed to temporarily access some adjacent properties during construction, even if the property owners are against it.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Goldsmith ordered ET Rover deposit over $2.5 million with the court clerk that is available for property owners to withdraw and said he will work to determine fair compensation for property owners losing their lands through eminent domain.

The pipeline sued 58 property owners and easement holders of 177 tracts of land in Michigan in February, filing in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Some reached settlements prior to the judge's order.

The natural-gas pipeline will pass through 15 miles of Livingston County, coming from the south through Washtenaw and Lenawee counties, the Pinckney State Recreation Area and Putnam, Marion, Iosco and Handy townships, before linking up with an existing Vector pipeline south of Fowlerville that is a joint venture between Enbridge Inc. and DTE Energy Co. It's estimated the line will transport 3.25 billion cubic feet of natural-gas produced in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations, passing through West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, and then on into Canada.

"Absent immediate possession of the property rights it seeks, Rover will suffer irreparable harm," due to construction delays and added costs, Goldsmith wrote in an order filed Friday. He wrote that a delay would "jeopardize Rover's compliance with binding contracts with gas shippers, thus causing substantial monetary losses."

ET Rover attorneys argued the extra expense of skipping a section of pipeline until property rights are worked out would cost the company between $814,000 and $1.7 million per property skipped, according to court records. In addition, waiting for easement access to clear trees — which the company said it must do before March 31 due to a protected species of endangered bat — would cost between $800,000 and $1.3 million 1,374,000 a day.

'People feel brushed aside'

Owner-members of Post 46 Hunting and Fishing Club, a sportsman's club next to Silver Lake in Dexter Township, said construction of the pipeline through the 90-acre club grounds will damage the club.

Club President Steve Fisher worries the club will lose members and revenue. Although he said he expects the club will remain open, pipeline construction will disrupt some activities.

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Pinckney resident Mark Redies, in March, points out on a map where the ET Rover natural-gas pipeline will cross through Post 46 Hunting and Fishing Club. A federal judge ruled that the company has a right to exercise the power of eminent domain on the club and dozens of other property and easement holders in Michigan, which means workers can access the land, clear trees and start construction, even though it never reached an agreement with the club.(Photo: JENNIFER EBERBACH/LIVINGSTON DAILY)

"We'd be shutting down the range service. It would affect target shooting and also some of the club parties and public events we hold. Day to day operations would still be there, like camping, boating and fishing, but it will be affected," he said.

Club member and Pinckney resident Mark Redies said construction of the pipeline will "dissect the club in half and many trees will be taken out." He worried that restoration work will be expensive.

The judge ordered the pipeline company deposit $132,100 with the court clerk to protect the hunting club's financial interests. He has not yet determined the amount ET Rover will compensate the hunting club.

Redies said it was difficult working with pipeline agents. They failed to settle on a price before the judge granted the company immediate access to the land. He said $132,100 is less than ET Rover's last offer to the club, which he did not think was enough to cover the club's losses.

"They say eminent domain is for the common good. This is not infrastructure good for the community. It's a big corporation that wants to send gas to Canada. In the meanwhile, people feel brushed aside," he said.

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Marion Township resident Bill Atkinson was in a dispute with ET Rover over the location of an access roadway used during construction of the pipeline. He recently reached a settlement with the company, which agreed to build the roadway in a way that would take out the least number of trees.(Photo: Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily)

Marion Township residents William Atkinson and his wife Wilma reached a settlement with ET Rover just days before the judge filed his order, he said.

The company will build a temporary access road through their property on the 3000 block of Dutcher Road to get to the pipeline route during construction.

"I don't want the pipeline near me or the roadway going through my property. ... But an individual can't fight eminent domain," he said.

Atkinson said ET Rover representatives accepted his "higher offer" and agreed to move the location of the temporary road to lessen its impact of his property. He did not disclose the settlement amount.

"What they were going to do before was to make a new path through my trees, and their original design had the road coming closer to my house. Instead, they are using an existing opening in the treeline, like I requested them to do in the first place. They plan to remove some smaller trees, but no big ones," Atkinson said.

"I'm not happy, but I'm not as unhappy as I could have been," he said.

Livingston County Drain Commissioner Brian Jonckheere said his agency reached “a verbal agreement” but not a formal settlement with ET Rover by the time the judge issued his order.

ET Rover sued drain commissions in all three counties over land where the pipeline will cross drains. The company also sued road commissions, which all settled.

“A sticking point had to do with them posting a bond, in case something happens, like if the pipes come out and are blocking our drains. They were balking at a lot of our requirements,” during negotiations, Jonckheere said. “Verbally, they said they were going to adhere to requirements.”